Air ambulance called to incident at Harrogate’s Hookstone Park

An air ambulance landed at Harrogate’s Hookstone Park this morning to treat a person who fell at an industrial unit.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance said in a statement:

“At 08.38am we dispatched our Nostell aircraft to a fall in Harrogate.

“Our critical care team provided on-scene support and the patient was taken to hospital by land ambulance.”

A Stray Ferret reader spotted the air ambulance in the Morrisons car park at around 9am this morning.

She said the crew went to join paramedics already on the scene at warehouses round the corner.

The Yorkshire Ambulance Service said:

“We received a call at 8.26am this morning to reports of a person who had fallen from a roof in the Hookstone Park area of Harrogate.”

The extent of the patient’s injuries is not currently known.

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Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel

Good morning, it’s Suzannah with you on this wet and windy morning. I’ll have all the road and transport updates for you so keep popping in to stay up-to-date.

The roads and pavements are rather wet this morning, so take care walking and driving.

Give me a call on 01423 276197 or get in touch on social media if you spot anything on the roads or are waiting for a delayed bus or train.

The morning blogs are brought to you by The HACS Group.

9am – Full Update 

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Traffic is building here:

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8.30am – Full Update 

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Traffic is building here:

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8am – Full Update 

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Traffic is building here:

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7.30am – Full Update 

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Traffic is building here:

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7am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are still looking quiet so far this morning, with no hotspots just yet. If you spot any disruption, give me a call on 01423 276197.

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Trains

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6.30am – Full Update 

Roads

The roads are looking quiet so far this morning, with no hotspots just yet. If you spot any disruption, give me a call on 01423 276197.

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Knaresborough theatre undergoes £50,000 refurb

Frazer Theatre in Knaresborough is getting ready to lift the curtain after a £50,000 refurbishment during its forced covid closure.

The theatre, behind Tesco Express on the High Street, has been under the ownership of the Knaresborough Players for over 50 years but it was only during covid that the dramatic society had the time to do the necessary works on it.

Starting last May, the society completely refurbished the stage with new foundations and flooring, painted the entire theatre and foyer, put in new carpets and re-upholstered the seats.

Vice-chairman John Pearce, said it was important for the character of the theatre to be maintained but added the new refurbishment will mean it’s fit for future performances.

“It’s not completely different but if you add it all up it is quite different. We had a lot of debate about how far to go, because we needed to keep the character of the Frazer.

“It’s been a lot of hard work, but it’s all been worth it because the theatre looks great.”

From this (left) to this (right: The Frazer Theatre renovation

The society has been planning these works for years but needed time to complete them without disruption its performance calendar.

As well as using its own savings, the society received a £30,000 donation after the death of a local man which was put towards the project.

The society’s pantomime is a big event in its calendar. But Mr Pearce said the society is still “working on options” after some members raised concerns about coming together to rehearse and perform together early next year.

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The 127-seat theatre is reopening for its first performance next week, Saturday 16, after almost 18 months.

In previous years, the theatre has held over 180 performances in a year including plays, pantomimes and comedy performances.

Overnight warning for heavy rain across the district

A yellow weather warning for heavy rain is in place across the district from the early hours of the tomorrow morning.

Following a wet weekend, the Met Office has put a yellow weather warning across North West England.

The warning means heavy and persistent rain is forecast from 2am tomorrow morning.

This level of warning could mean a “few homes and business are flooded” and predicts travel delays due to potential flooding on the roads.

The warning will be in place until 23.59 on Tuesday evening.

The Met Office yellow weather warning is in place from Newcastle to Yorkshire and as far south as Norwich.

There are currently no flood warnings or alerts in place.

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Bad weather means Bilsdale mast won’t be switched on tomorrow

Some Harrogate district residents face another two weeks without TV due to bad weather delaying the switch on of the temporary Bilsdale mast.

The mast was scheduled to be switched on tomorrow, restoring signal to 90% of homes affected by a fire at the original mast on August 10.

But Arqiva, which owns the mast, has now said there will be up to a fortnight’s delay.

In its latest update, the company said the temporary mast had been built but it would not be turned until between October 13 to 19.

It said high winds, low cloud and heavy rain on moorland where the aerial is situated meant the workers couldn’t climb the 80m structure or keep equipment dry. It said in a statement:

“The final installation work, checks and tests require good visibility and line of sight from the ground, while rain and winds above 20mph make it dangerous for workers to climb to heights and to lift equipment into place.”

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Adrian Twyning, Arqiva’s chief of operations, said:

“I want to apologise to those people who were really hoping for their services to be restored after a long wait this week. We had worked hard for that too, and this is immensely frustrating.

“The wind, cloud and rain has a heavy impact on how we can work at height, and safety is our absolute priority. We will continue to work flat out to restore services to the people who deserve them, and we will provide a further update as soon as we can.”

The company has said it is working with local authorities, housing associations and charities to support and help those who will still not receive a service as a result of the switch on of the temporary mast.

A website is said to be set up, called Project Restore, to focus on the over 65s, and clinically vulnerable and vulnerable people affected.

Boroughbridge Lions looking for space to open community fridge

Boroughbridge Lions are on the hunt for a space in the centre of the town to open a community fridge, which would provide food to anyone in the local area.

The community group will work alongside Boroughbridge Community Care, a charity that offers help to those in need, to set up the space which would allow everyone to share surplus food, including donations from local food businesses, producers, households and gardens.

The organisations will be working with Hubbub which already helps to run 200 community fridges across the UK.

Food, such as dairy products, bread, tinned food and dry food destined for landfill would be donated by local shops or businesses and given to anyone in the community.

Lions member Sue Johnson said the space didn’t need to be huge, just big enough for a fridge and some shelving and somewhere central for people to access.

Ms Johnson said:

“We are still waiting for someone to come forward and offer us a space.

“Boroughbridge Community Care already hand out food parcels to six families locally. But we thought for people that aren’t aware of Boroughbridge Community Care, or who are struggling one week, then we would be there.”

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The plan is to start by opening the fridge one day a week and then, depending on how much food is donated and how large the demand is, open more days.

The space would be run by Lions and Boroughbridge Community Care staff.

Ms Johnson has asked anyone who may be able to offer a space or get involved in the project to email bbrlions@hotmail.com.

Two men in Harrogate court after huge cannabis seizure

Two men appeared at Harrogate Magistrates Court today on drugs charges after police stopped a car filled with cannabis on the A1.

North Yorkshire Police said in a statement today that officers stopped a vehicle on the southbound carriageway of the A1(M) just before Wetherby at about 2pm yesterday. They were acting on information received.

Traffic officers and other specialist departments found large quantities of what is believed to be cannabis, class B drug, inside the vehicle.

The police statement said:

“Whilst searching the vehicle on the roadside, a very large quantity of what is suspected to be a class B drug, believed to be cannabis, was found inside the vehicle.

“Two men were arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply.

“Further detailed searches were carried out at an address in West Yorkshire.

“A man in his 30s from Leeds and a man in his 40s of no fixed address were remanded in custody and today appeared before magistrates in Harrogate.”

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‘Inspired every day’: Studley Royal gardener retires after 45 years

The head of landscape at Studley Royal Water Garden in Ripon has retired after 45 years, working on the garden he calls “the most beautiful in the world”.

Michael Ridsdale has worked for the National Trust for 45 years, with 37 of those at Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal.

He is the trust’s longest serving gardener.

Over the years Mr Ridsdale has worked to restore the garden and its buildings to how they would have been in their heyday of 1871.

His 37 years at the helm of the gardening team haven’t all been plain sailing: he’s had to deal with severe flooding and foot-and-mouth disease, which threatened the garden’s large deer herd in 2001.

Key projects for Mr Ridsdale have included the conservation of follies, bridges and paths throughout the site, silt removal from the Skell river and Studley lake, restoration of the monastic precinct wall and the ongoing conservation of Fountains Hall and the Elizabethan garden.

He also spent four years restoring the Moon Ponds after their formal shapes were almost completely lost.

Moon Ponds: from this (above) in 1983 to this (below) today

Mr Ridsdale said:

“That early project set the tone for how we would look after and care for the site.

“The confidence in our restoration began to build and we created something magical, recreating what visitors would have seen in 1781. It’s one of my proudest achievements.”

Three years after Mr Ridsdale’s arrival, Studley Royal and the ruins of Fountains Abbey became a World Heritage Site in 1986.

Mr Ridsdale added:

“It was the most wonderful recognition for all the hard work we’d done, and recognition from the international community that this place was on par with other cultural sites around the world.”

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He said the “forever changing” gardens kept him inspired all these years and he wishes he had another 50 years to complete all the ongoing restoration.

But Mr Ridsdale won’t be too far away: he has taken on a new role as a volunteer at Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal.

Bilton artist sells paintings from his garage to millionaires abroad

Tucked away in a garage in Bilton is a local artist who, when not teaching, can be found splashing colour onto canvases for people across the globe.

Martin Sloan graduated from Sunderland University with a Fine Art degree in 1999. He said like many creative people he dreamed of making money out of his passion.

Now, he is the head of art at King James’s School in Knaresborough and sells his art for as much as £3,000 to hang in homes and offices around the world.

When he’s not teaching you will find him paintbrush in hand in his garage studio putting all his energy and emotion onto the canvas.

Mr Sloan uses wild and bright colours to create his abstract art and calls it “his escape and biggest passion”.

His studio in Bilton.

Living in Bilton for 16 years, Mr Sloan said his art sales have really picked up in the last year with one going a millionaire dollar mansion in New York.

He said:

“Art still really excites me, I’m surrounded by it all the time at school and then at home. Sometimes I’m inspired by a walk along the Nidd sometimes it’s a holiday in the South of France. That’s why I love it.”

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Mr Sloan puts his style of art down to his “transient lifestyle growing up in the military”. He says the abstract nature is a reflection of moving a lot and only settling to an area later in life with his wife and children.

He is often amazed by where his art ends up:

“It’s amazing that it comes from my garden shed in Bilton and they go all over the world.”

Hidden away in Bilton

Car reverses into stationary vehicle then drives off in Harrogate

Police are appealing for information after a car reversed into a stationary vehicle then drove off without stopping.

The incident happened at the temporary traffic lights on Harrogate’s Ripon Road at about 5pm on September 18.

North Yorkshire Police said in a statement today:

“Police are keen to trace the owner of a dark coloured vehicle that reversed into a stationary car before driving away.”

Anyone with information can call the force control room on 101, select option 2, and ask for PC 1211. Or email robert.howe@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk.

To report information anonymously, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

The North Yorkshire Police reference number is 12210207408.

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